STEM Careers and CTE Events Gone Virtual with Tiffanie Rosier and Brittany Hollis

In this episode, Rachael Mann is joined by guests, Tiffanie Rosier and Brittany Hollis to discuss Northern Virginia Community College's STEM outreach program and the successful move to a virtual platform. Virtual STEM Careers Event Recap, written by Tiffanie and Brittany Many programs at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) have effectively adjusted their events from in-person to virtual and NOVA SySTEMic, NOVA's STEM outreach program, has done the same with STEM Camps, STEMinars and CTE Career Exploration. In March, NOVA SySTEMic successfully pivoted major in-person events to a virtual format using Zoom, including Virtual Interviewing Skills Workshops, Virtual Mock Interviews, and a STEM Careers Series. Virtual CTE Career Exploration Fair In response to COVID 19, NOVA went into telework and remote instruction in mid-March, just 72 hours before the CTE Career Exploration Fair. Faced with the decision to cancel, reschedule or modify the event, NOVA SySTEMic decided to put on a Virtual Career Fair so that students and parents would not miss the important and timely information that could still be relayed through Zoom. The Virtual CTE Career Exploration Fair provided access to valuable information on NOVA Programs, Services and Career Exploration.  Although 91 students had signed up for the original in-person event, 29 participants and 15 of NOVA's programs of study and student services departments were retained for the Virtual Fair.  This new format allowed for small group interaction and allowed participants to learn more about a variety of programs in one setting from their own home.  While the turnaround time to modify the event was short, the goal of providing information to current and prospective students was still met effectively. This fall our goal is to conduct a series of Virtual CTE Program Session Overviews in October that will also provide session recordings that will be available on the NOVA SySTEMic YouTube Channel. To continue reading, click here. Tiffanie Rosier is a STEM Education Coordinator for Northern Virginia Community College.  She has a Bachelor's in Public Relations from James Madison University, a Masters in Higher Education Administration from Western Kentucky University, and holds the Global Career Development Facilitator Certification.  Tiffanie has worked in Career Services at several institutions. Brittany Hollis is the Information and Engineering Technology Career Coach for Northern Virginia Community College. She has a Bachelor's in Biology and Teacher Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters in Higher Education from North Carolina State University. Brittany was a former high school science teacher before transitioning to higher education and has worked with several STEM education programs at the collegiate level.